Rosie O'Donnell hammers Trump repeatedly in Kimmel guest-host gig as White House fires back
Rosie O'Donnell wrapped up her week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" with more digs at President Donald Trump Thursday night, ending her brief guest-hosting stint.
"I’ve really enjoyed my time here thanks to everyone who’s been watching this week, especially the hungry, hungry hypocrite in the White House," O'Donnell said during her monologue Thursday. "Most of all, I'd like to thank Jimmy Kimmel for inviting me to do this and for reminding everyone that we have the right to free speech in this country, whether orange Voldemort likes it or not."
O'Donnell guest-hosted Kimmel's show while the late-night host was on summer break.
ROSIE O'DONNELL’S RETURN TO LATE NIGHT REIGNITES DECADES-OLD FEUD WITH DONALD TRUMP
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle fired back, telling Fox News Digital, "Rosie O’Donnell is a nasty woman and a total slob whose brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome."
The comedian name-dropped Natalie Harp during her monologue Wednesday, referring to remarks Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff made at a Georgia rally Sunday.
"A special hello to those of you watching from home — and from the White House," she said. "But I do have some bad news for President Petty Roosevelt. That’s all I’m going to say about you tonight, sweetheart. Time to go nighty night."
"You got to realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in," O’Donnell continued, drawing gasps and applause from the Kimmel audience. The White House and Republicans criticized Ossoff's remarks earlier this week.
During Tuesday's monologue, O'Donnell thanked the president for her reignited fame. O'Donnell left the country after Trump won the 2024 election and moved to Ireland.
In a 2025 TikTok video, O'Donnell said she would think about returning to America "when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there." O'Donnell has since returned to the U.S. to guest-host "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and appear on several podcasts.
"I’m back in the spotlight all thanks to President Oompa J. Loompa, who is watching us this evening from inside a catering cart," O’Donnell said. "You know, I couldn’t have done it without you, sweetie. You brought me back just like you did with fascism and the measles."
O'Donnell explained her move to Ireland during her first episode as a guest host Monday.
She began her monologue by poking fun at Trump’s longtime distaste for the show, telling the audience, "The president hated ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Buckle up, people."
"I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Got to get myself out of here, you know,’ and I decided to go to Ireland, a place where people are driven to drink regardless of who's running their country," O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell then recalled how her teenager delivered the news that they would be moving abroad to their classmates, telling the audience her child said, "‘I’m very sorry. I won’t be able to graduate sixth grade with you. I’m being forced to move to another country because the president of the United States hates my mother. But in all fairness, I believe my mother hates him more.’"
Without mentioning Trump by name, O’Donnell then smiled directly into the camera and addressed the president, telling him, "Hi, I know you’re watching."
O'Donnell and the president have traded barbs for years, and Trump threatened to revoke the comedian's citizenship after she fled to Ireland in 2025.
During an appearance on the Irish radio show, "Sunday with Miriam," in 2025, O'Donnell opened up about the contentious back and forth with the president of the United States and explained why she's "very proud" to stand up against him after all these years.
"He still uses me as a punching bag and a way to sort of rile his base," O'Donnell, 64, said. "And I'm very proud to be opposed to every single thing he says and does and represents. I think he's a racist, and he's misogynistic, and he's sexist, and he is a danger to women and children all over the world."
The decades-long feud stems back to 2006 after O'Donnell criticized him when she was a host on "The View" about his decision to be lenient toward a Miss USA winner who had been accused of drug use and other bad behavior.
O'Donnell — who was a co-host on "The View" at the time — said Trump was "not a self-made man" but a "snake-oil salesman on ‘Little House On The Prairie.’"
Trump responded to the criticism by calling O'Donnell a "real loser" and "a woman out of control."
O'Donnell told People in 2014 that the criticism she received from Trump was the worst bullying she had experienced.
"Probably the Trump stuff was the most bullying I ever experienced in my life, including as a child," O’Donnell said. "It was national, and it was sanctioned societally. Whether I deserved it is up to your own interpretation."
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Trump responded to her comments by tweeting, "Rosie—No offense, and good luck on the new show, but remember, you started it!"
Fox News' Julia Bonavita, CJ Womack and Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.